Street-sweeper.



111111111116511.v STREET SWEEPBR. -APYPLIGATION FILED AUG.27, 1912.

Patented May 26, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l,

F. R. BRUGGER.

STREET SWBBPER. APPLIGATTON FILED AUG.27,1912.

l ,097,9l1 Patented May 26, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lUHllllllllllHll g SWOT/unis' F. R. BRUGGBR.

STREET SWEEPER.

MPLIGAHON FILED AUG.27.1912

11,097,911 Patented May 26, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET d.

I w vanto/o FREDERICK n. BBUGGER, 0F um our, rown.

srnnn'r-swnnrnn.

Specification Letters -Patent.

Patented May 26, 1914.

hpalioatjqn iled August 27, 1912. Serial Nn. 71.7;388.

To ail lwhom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, Fmsenulcn R. Pumay GER, citizen of the United States, residing at Lake City, in the county lof' Calhounand State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweepers, of which the following is a specification.

rThis invention relates to street sweepers,

and has 'for its object the provision of a lmotor propelled machine which may be pro-v duced at a lowr cost and which, when in use, will be easily operated and will eiiectually remove from streets, pavements, or other surfaces all dust and dirt deposited thereon.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and wiil be hereinafter iirst fully described, the novel features being subsequently lpointed out in the claims fol-y lowing the description.'

In-the drawings: -Figure lis a sectional elevation of a street sweeper embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same with the seat and the upper-'portion ofthedust chambers removed; Fig. 3 is a side elevation; Fig. 4 is a detail showing the manner of dumping the dust' pan. Fig. 5

is a detail View vof the differential gear.4

In carrying out my invention, I lemploy a trarne 1 of suitable dimensions having a fork 2 mounted in a steering head 3 at its front end, said fork carrying 'a steering wheel 4 and being equipped withhandies 5' extending back to a peint where they may be easlly reached by the occupant of' a seat 6 supported upon the frame near the rear end thereof.

Traction wheels 7 are mounted upon an axle 8 which is secured in the frame near the rear end thereof, and to the inner sides of the traction Wheels, 1 secure large gear wheels 9, as clearly shown. These gear wheels 9 are in mesh with pinions 10 secured, upon a shaft 11 which is journaled in suitable bearings upon the, frame in rear of the axle and is provided at an intermediete 'point of its length with a 'diferential gear, indicated at 12, the housing 13 -for said gear being shown broken away. Motion is imparted to the diierential gear, so as to rotate the shaft 11 and thereby actuate the traction Wheels 7- through the spur .ring 14 of said diiierential gear; and pinion '15 which is fixed upon a transmission s haft 16, as shown. The said .shat'- 16 is Journaled in a suitable supplemental frame or with fly wheels 27 and housing 13 upon the main frame and' is equipped with a plurality of gears 17, 18 and 19, as shown. VThe gear 19 meshes with a pinion 20 fitted upon a stu-beshaft which 1s mounted upon the side of the housing 13, and the gears 17 and 18 are ada ted to be engaged by gear wheels 21. and '2, respectlvel which are keyed or otherwise fitted upon' the engine driving shaft 23 so that they may be shifted longitudinally of the said driving shaft but will be forced to rotate with the same. These gears are connected' by a grooved collar 24 which is engaged by a yoke connected with a suitable loperating lever 25 whereby the collar may be moved longitudinally ofthe driving shaft and thereby actuated to bring the gear. 22 into mesh with the gear 18 or with the pin'- ion 20 or to bring the gear 21 into mesh with thev gear 17. with the gear wheel 18, the machine willv be driven forward at a driven forward at a higher speed. vIi? the gea-r 22 be brought into mesh with the pinf ion 20, the'direction 'of movement will be reversed and the machine` may then be backed into the barn or other place of stora e. e

gThe engine, indicated at 26, is equipped 28 at its opposite sides, and the driving shaft member 23 is adapted to be connected tothe ily wheel 28 so as to rotate therewith by a friction clutch '29' controlled by means of a foot lever 30 and opposed cams 31, 3 1, .the .cam 31 being formed' on the end ofthe lever and the cam 31% being Aformed on the housing 13. around the shat. IFhe y wheel 2'( 1s connected through a rictienv clutch 32 with a shaft member 83 u which is secured a uliey 3i connected a belt 35 with 'a pul e V36 fixed upon the'fan shaft'f. The clutc 32 is operated through opposedy cams 32, 32",

which are controlledl'by a foot' lever 32". vThe fan shaft 37 is journaled in suitable bearin s upon the iframe and extends throu the dust chamber 38,- as shown. Within the dust' chamber are fan casings 39 and within 'the said"y fan casings are mounted fans 40 of any preferred'form, the ian casings being provided with discharge enin s 41 projected toward the bottom o the ust chamber and textile dust When the gear 22 meshes.'M5

low speed and when the gear 21 meshes with the gear 17, it will be' retainers 42 are secured within the dust .1.10

' derstood. The shaft member 33 is extended beyond the side of the main frame and is equipped at its extremity with a sprocket wheel 44 around which, and a sprocket wheel 45, is trained a chain 46. The. sprocket wheel 45 is ixed upon a stub-shaft journaled in the side of the frame, and the said shaft carries a pinion 47 vmeshing with a gear wheel 48 which is keyed upon a shaft 49 journaled upon the frame below the stubshaft and extending entirely across the ma chine near the rear of the dust-pan or dirt receptacle 43, as will be readily understood on reference to Fig. l. An endless belt 50 passes around the` said shaft 49 anda roller 5l below and in rear thereof, and the said belt carries a plurality of brushes 52 which are adapted to ride upwardly upon a parllt-ion 53 which leads up to and forwardly ayond the rear wall of the receptacle 43, as shown. The lower end of the partition 53 is curved upwardly and rearwardly to form a trough 54 and the dirt deposited in said trough will be swept up the "partition by the brushes 52 and discharged in the receptacle 43, as will be readily understood. The roller 51 is journaled in the lsides ofv a supplemental casing of which the partition 53 and trough 54 form a part, and the said casing is enlarged at the rear of the machine to constitute a cylinder 55 within which is housed the broom or brush 56. The said broom or brush is carried by a shaft 57 which is journaled in the ends of the cylinder and is equipped with a sprocket wheel 58 around which and a sprocket pinion 59 on the end of the shaft 49, is trained a chain 60 whereby the brush will be rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the traction wheels. The cylinder 55 is provided at its rear with a shoe 61 adapted to ride over the surface being cleaned and thereby serve as a buffer to prevent bending or other damage to the cylinder and the brush or broom therein as the machine is caused to travel over a rough surface. The cylinder 55 is, .of course, open at the bottom of the machine so that thev brush may project therethrough to come into contact with the surface to be cleaned, and in advance of the brush an apron 62 is fitted upon the rear edge of the trough and depends therefrom to serve as a guide or deflector so that the particles of matter taken up by the' brush will be directed into the trough 54 as the brush moves over the apron, as w1ll be readily understood.

lThe handle bars 5 carry the park and throttle controlling levers 63 and 64l and these members may be of the usual or any preferred form.

The engine 26 is disposed belowthe seat to economize room and the fuel tank, ignition controller, and other accessories of the engine will be likewise disposed under the seat. The gear wheel 9 at the right of the machine is hollow or recessed in its inner face to accommodate a brake band 65 which is expanded against the inner .surface ofthe rim of the wheel by a lever 66 mounted on the main frame adjacent the seat and connected with the free end of the band by a link and crank arms, as indicated in Fig. 1 and as will be readily understood. Mounted upon one side of the seat-supporting frame, is a lever 67 which isv connected by a link 68 with a crank arm 69 rising from a rock shaft 7 0 journaled in suitable bearings at the rear end of the main frame and provided at its ends with rearwardly projecting crank arms 71 which are connected bythe links 7 2 with the cylinder 55. l

It will be readily seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the aC companying drawings, that if the clutches 29 and 32 be shifted into engagement with the adjacent y wheels the several mecha nisms will be driven so that the machine will be caused to travel forwardly and the brush or broom 56 will be rotated to remove the particles of dirt from the surfaceI over which the machine -travels and sweep the said particles up the apron 62 into the trough 64. The elevating brushes 52 will then act upon the said particles and carry them up the partition 53 and discharge them into the receptacle 43, while the fans 40 will create a suction through the elevator to prevent the escape of dust from below the broom and to take up dust that the broom would pass over. The casing of the elevator is connected to the fan casings and to thel dust pan by eXible curtains 73 so that the air currents will not be dissipated nor diverted and the dust permitted to escape as the elevator vibrates in passing over a rough surface. If the receptacle 43 has been filled, the gear 22 is moved out of mesh with the gear 18 and the ear 21 simultaneously moved into mesh witnthe gear 17. T he clutch 32 is then the machine will be caused to travel orwardly at a higher speed without operating the fans and the contents of the receptacle may be discharged at the dump. To facilitate such discharge, the' bottom .of the pan .1s composed of a series of' oscillatory overlapping slats 74 carried by rock shafts which are equipped with 'crank arms 75, said crank whih rises a handle 77 whereby if the han-f ile be vibrated all the slats will be rocked released from the fly wheel 27 whereu on` arms being connected by a link 76 from ros lll

.o open or close `the bottom of the pan. 13

` said walls, a brush within sai When the machine is being driven to the place of deposit, the brush or broom may b e swung upwardly by manipulating the lever 67 so that it will not come in contact with the pavement and the sweeping operation will be thereby suspended, the casing containing the brush swinging about the shaft 49 as a center.

My improved machine is very compactly arranged and may be easily controlled so that it will be found highly ecient in use for the purposes for which it is designed.

What l claim is 1. ln a sweeper, the combination of 'a frame, wheels supporting the same, a dirt chamber carried by and depending from the front portion of the trame, upper and lower parallel inclined walls extendin downwardly and rearwardly from' said dirt chamber and disposed below the iframe, a transverse cylinder below the frame in rear of said walls and having an opening communicating directly withv the s ace between cylinder, a conveyer arranged between said parallel walls, a fan disposed within the dirt chamber at the upper end of the lower inclined wall and communicating with the space between said walls, and means on the frame over the transverse cylinder and the inclined.

walls for driving` the supporting wheels, the brushes and the fan.,

2. ln a sweeper, the combination ot a wheel-supported frame, a'dirt chamber carried by said frame, an inclined partition eX- tending downwardly and rearwardly from the dirt chamber, a cylindrical casing at the rear end of said partition, a wall extending from said casing parallel with the partition,

a brush within said casing, an elevator mov-y ing'between the partition and the wall parallel therewith, a fan at the upper end of the said partition and wall dischargin toward the bottom of the dirt chamber, and operating mechanism for said brush, elevator and 3. ln a sweeper the combination of a wheel-supported iirame, a dirt receptacle mounted on the frame, a 'fan discharging toward the bottom of the dirt receptacle, an

lelevator leading upwardly through the rear wall of thedirt receptacle and having its upper end disposed adjacent the fan, a yrotary brush at the lower end of the elevator, and means for 'operating said brush, the elevator and the ian.

4l. ln a sweeper, the combination of a trame, wheels supporting the frame, a motor mounted on said iframe, gearing connecting 'said `-motor with some of the sun ortin interner n. remera. [1.. a]

Witnesses:

L. E. Nonne, E. W. Townsnnn. 

